When will athletes learn?

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By Erin Summers

Athletes baffle me sometimes, I mean if someone said they’d give me millions of dollars to just work out, play games and stay out of trouble, I think I could easily do it.

So why do we continually see athletes in the news for making poor decision after poor decision?

I bring this up in light of UNC’s Quinton Coples being investigated by the NCAA for attending a NFL draft party hosted by former UNC football players Marvin Austin and Robert Quinn.

Now Coples hasn’t technically been given a million dollars, but he does have a college scholarship and the potential to make some hefty dollar bills next year as he’s slated to go top five in the 2012 NFL Draft.

The NCAA clearly warned current college athletes not to attend draft parties because there may be a huge possibility that a NCAA violation would occur in terms of impermissible benefits, i.e. someone buys you a drink, gets you into the club for free, etc.

Even so, I can get why he’d attend. Coples may not have done anything wrong. He may be just as hard-headed as I can be at times, and heck who’d want to miss out on such a great party right?

It’s kind of like your mom telling you not to touch the hot stove because it will burn you, but you do it anyways and then you realize that dang your mom was right, you got burned and it hurts.

But Coples has been burned, so even if he didn’t want to heed the warnings of the NCAA, did he not see what happened to his teammates last year? Did he not suffer right a long with the rest of the team throughout their plagued 2010 season?

With the era of social media we live in, you can believe everything you do has been documented somewhere whether it be a twitpic, facebook uploaded picture, or a check-in. Why play with fire?

I can only imagine the bombs that went off in the UNC athletic office when they got the call from NCAA about a new avenue they need to explore, with the previous investigation still open.

But to give Coples credit, it’s not just the college aged kids that are having trouble making smart decisions. A recent example, Dodgers Andre Ethier… so maybe they just won’t ever learn.

Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

VT1994HokieMay 25, 2011

View quoted thread

I never agreed on paying players until the Newton scandal. Since the NCAA and BCS looked the other way its now open to pay all players.

— Posted by No Party Affiliate

I appreciate what you wrote on this one. After Cam Newton...... it set the clock backwards a little. His dad is a loser, and Cam latched on to his deal. But. I am not in favor of paying students to get a pay check while they are getting a free education, and make a school richer. Give some of the poor students a stipend to get them home at Holidays.

prjohnso72May 25, 2011

Erin,Thanks for calling it like you see it. It has to be tough to be a UNC graduate addressing the mistakes made by current players when they just had to witness the mistakes made by their former teammates. Erin keep keeping it real.Go Pack!

No Party AffiliateMay 24, 2011

I never agreed on paying players until the Newton scandal. Since the NCAA and BCS looked the other way its now open to pay all players.

No Party AffiliateMay 24, 2011

Who care? Athletes sure don't. Did the players suspended last year really lose out to the NFL? Heel no! They were still drafted and did not even have to play or risk injury in college.

Make all college football teams minor league NFL teams. Would you want your daughter to be around most of these athletes at school? I would not. Keep these players away from campus. The players are 18+ so let them get paid and control thier own destiny. NFL is not going to be a parent. The NCAA is just being a red headed step parent to those athletes.

The players will always be dumb and never care about an education, so why waste any resources on them. Just pay them and keep them away from our daughters on campus.

VT1994HokieMay 23, 2011

I do know that WRAL keeps it's reporting mainly to Wake and the near surrounding areas. WF is kinda away. The guys out there listen to WXII. WRAL wants to make the news here. Just like the N&amp;O, and the Fayetteville Observer. That's where the money is. Written to the above writer. Erin is breaking in and they tell her what to research.

beemerMay 23, 2011

Does this reporter write about anything other than the UNC NCAA investigation? Geez if somebody asked me to sleep all day and write a negative piece every two weeks, I think I could do it.

Coples made a bonehead decision. No doubt about that. But there were PLENTY of other things that have happened at other local schools that have gotten ZERO coverage (i.e. Wake Forest basketball program apparently can't keep its pants on).

VT1994HokieMay 23, 2011

View quoted thread

Right on, Hokie. As a UNC fan, I was literally speechless when I read the story on Coples. To do what he did implies a borderline mentally challenged brain. It's almost the exact same circumstances as last year, and yet "la dee da" he just waltzes around like there isn't the possibility of him looking guilty of impropriety.

It boggles the mind, how stupid some people can be.

— Posted by raleighb62

And, I agree all the way with you too.

TruthBKnown Banned Again02May 23, 2011

One thing I have yet to see is ANY of Carolina's officials claiming that they knew about his trip and approved of it.

LOIC = LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL

TruthBKnown Banned Again02May 23, 2011

The problem wasn't that he attended the party. The ONLY question is, did he pay his own way or not?

Plus, given all that happened to Carolina last year, the ole image is GOING to take a hit, even if he paid his own way. He's there rubbing elbows with NFL players and agent runners. That much is FACT, not even up for debate. So even if there's no proof of any wrongdoing, there will always be doubts that more went on than any of us will ever know.

No pictures of cash or bling posted on Facebook doesn't necessarily mean they weren't handed out. We'll never know for sure (probably).

RochesterRedWolfMay 23, 2011

So let's look at what UNC athletes learned, as instructed by UNC admins (HT and DB) and the Head Coach: Butch Davis.

They learned that although their actions ruined what was a potential national championship (wait till i stop laughing), brought shame and humility to their school, their trustees, their administrators and coaches and their own families, and that they had to sit out the entire year... they learned that they could still come back for Pro Day and remain in school and finish out with a paper degree from UNC. Hmmm. I guess thats all to keep that graduation metric of the NCAA up.

Coples has essentially already solidified his draft status. He could actually hurt his stock by playing and getting injured. What incentive has his school given him to follow the rules or any other person likely to be drafted, if you still get to come back and go thru Pro Day and use the facilities? I'm not saying he did anything wrong, have no idea. But the reason athletes don't learn is like the reason no one else learns: consequences.